. 

The reports claim that the club are about to offer Lampard a £39million, five-year deal and they have a source who has stated:

“The club are desperate to keep hold of Frank. They had talks with him just before the China tour which they hope will finally convince him to stay long term.”

”I know Frank is very tempted by the offer as it means he could potentially see the rest of his career out at Chelsea, and there is every chance he could sign.”

The Background

The deal on the table for Frank is four years at around 140K a week (in reality, it is probably less than that, but most players wages – especially Chelsea ones – get exaggerated) but Frank apparently wants five years at 150K.  In step Mourinho´s Inter and offer 120K a week over four years with a one-year option to become effective IF Inter win the Champion’s League during that four year period.

The Maths

Now basic maths paint the obvious picture that the Inter deal is only better IF they win the Champions League with Frank earning over a five year period – a touch risky in my opinion – he could be better off staying at the Bridge and even earn the extra year he wants by re-negotiating at a later date if his performance level is maintained.

The Issue

Frank has yet to make any public statement on the contract issue with Chelsea but many feel that he uses The Sun’s Ian McGarry as a mouthpiece. 

McGarry insinuates that Frank feels he can play until he’s 35 and deserves the whopping contract as he has been undervalued in the past.

Has Frank been undervalued?  Does his service warrant and deserve an unprecedented five year contract at 30 years of age? 

A glance at player earnings tables over recent seasons does indeed demonstrate that Frank has fallen down in the pecking order despite performing much better than many of those above him (and he is at one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet) and there is not much argument over his performances for the club over the last four seasons or so.

Chelsea no doubt feel that whilst they have potentially limitless funds they must do what they can financially to obtain value for money and at some point in the future, break even.  The offer on the table would already make Frank one of, if not THE highest player in the Premier League anyway. 

The issue at this moment remains without solution and the current position would mean that Frank plays out one last season with Chelsea before moving to Inter.

The Supporters

The Chelsea support appears to be divided over the situation; some are of the opinion that Frank has been our best midfielder in history and the club should give him what he wants, players can play on a lot longer these days and he deserves it; others feel that the current offer is more than good enough and if he doesn’t want to stay then he can go.

There is also a more suspicious opinion amongst some of the Stamford Bridge faithful – Frank wants to leave anyway, he wants to go to Inter, return to Mourinho and see out his career in sunny Italy (although Milan can get quite foggy!) and the reason he hasn’t spoken out personally is because he doesn’t want Chelsea fans to believe that leaving us for Inter was “his fault”.

So What’s the Score Then?

Well, if true, this statement from Express source on the supposed new offer is quite telling:

”However, a lot of bad feeling was created when details of the contract negotiations were being publicly discussed by the club and there are still some issues to iron out.”

So does Frank feel that his dignity has been dented by the tough posture on not agreeing to a five-year deal in the first place?  Does Frank feel offended and now is too late to repair the damage?  Or ... when you look at the maths of the Inter offer, their deal isn’t much better and could even be potentially worse – so is Frank determined to go to Inter anyway - and some supporters suspicions about his motives correct?

Well, if the new offer is reality, Abramovich would certainly be calling his bluff!  Time will tell...

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Lampard Over and Out!
• Pharmaceuticals 0-4 Chelsea + Video Highlights

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS